NO BARK, ALL BITE; BULLDOGS' ACE MCGUIRE GIVES ND OPPONENTS THE SILENT TREATMENT

During another dominating pitching performance by Notre Dame senior Nathan McGuire in a 7-0 win at Poplar Bluff this past week, it occurred to Bulldog coach Gregg Muench what has made his pitcher so successful this season.

McGuire was rolling to his fourth shutout of the season, improving his record to 8-0, when one of the Poplar Bluff coaches offered some rhyming advice to one of his players from the coaches' box.

"We were playing Poplar Bluff and Nathan got ahead in the count 0-2 or 1-2 and their coach was yelling to his batter, `you never know, what he's going to throw,'" said Muench, imitating the coaches tune. "That kind of sums up why he's been so successful. He can throw any pitch for a strike and he's just a competitor."

McGuire, who throws four different pitches effectively (fastball, curve, forkball and slider), has been virtually untouchable on the mound in helping the Bulldogs to a 15-3 record. He improved his record to 9-0 with a win Friday at Capaha Field in the Bulldogs opening-round Big 8 Tournament game against Dexter.

Without a doubt, McGuire has proven to be the ace of the Bulldogs staff, earning victories in every game he's pitched. The lanky, 6-foot-2 righthander has completed seven games he's started and earned one win in relief.

In 54 innings pitched, McGuire has struck out a remarkable 73 batters while walking only 8. With McGuire on the mound, opponents have scored just nine runs against the Bulldogs, with seven of those runs earned to give the Bulldogs' ace a sparkling 0.91 earned run average.

"He throws strikes and he's always around the zone," said Muench. "It's uncommon for a high school pitcher to have command of four pitches and he throws them where he wants them -- not necessarily for strikes -- which is what makes him good."

McGuire, who has started for the Bulldogs since batting .410 as a sophomore, pitched sparingly last year for a senior dominated Notre Dame squad that won the SEMO Conference and 2A District titles. But Muench was optimistic McGuire could post big numbers on the mound entering this season.

"I expected both Chris (Canfield) and Nathan to be solid starters because last year, when they were called onto pitch, they did just an excellent job," Muench said.

McGuire, who started at second and third base last year, was looking forward to the opportunity to pitch more in his final season of high school ball.

"I had to sit around and watch last year's team and didn't really get to pitch too much," McGuire said. "I was really glad to get the chance this year."

It didn't take McGuire long to warm up to the task of being the Bulldog pitching ace, earning shutouts in his first two starts of the season. The second shutout, a 9-0 win over Kelly at home, was a 12-strikeout no-hitter of the Hawks in which he allowed no walks.

"The no-hitter against Kelly, I was most proud of," McGuire said looking back on his eight victories. "I've been pitching a long time but I never really expected this in high school."

As dominating as McGuire has been on the mound, he has also received a lot of support from his offense and defense. In the seven games McGuire has started, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 55-8.

"The team seems to play better around Nathan," said Muench.

For example, McGuire's one relief victory was earned after he entered a scoreless game in the fifth inning against Fredericktown. McGuire pitched one scoreless inning to earn his fifth win when the Bulldogs scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth in a 5-0 victory.

McGuire, a quiet person on and off the field, prefers to lead by example rather than being a vocal presence in the dugout. Muench has no problem with the way McGuire goes about his business.

"He's a quiet kid, he really is, but he leads by example," said Muench. "He goes out and competes every pitch and every at-bat. We have other kids that are real vocal and they take over that vocal part of it."

McGuire would like to continue his baseball career in college and he appears to be both physically and mentally ready for the next level. Recently he was awarded Academic All-State which is given to the top 10 percent of student athletes in the state.

McGuire has been looking at Southeast Missouri State and St. Louis University. Muench, who coached Southeast freshman pitcher Lanson DeBrock last season, thinks McGuire has the tools to continue pitching at the Division-I level.

"I really feel like he can pitch in Division I," said Muench. "He throws about 83-85 miles per hour and that's a good college pitcher at the Division I level.

"What makes the difference is the (pitchers) that make the fewest mistakes with the pitches they throw," Muench said. "Right now, he doesn't make mistakes. He's just so confident with every pitch he throws.

"He's always had that confidence."